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Does public release of performance results improve quality of care?

A systematic review

Paul G Shekelle, Yee-Wei Lim, Soeren Mattke, Cheryl Damberg

September 2008

This report from the Health Foundation reviews the international evidence on this issue. It tests current theory that the public release of performance data can increase the accountably of healthcare providers and motivate organisational quality improvement activities.

The report tackles this by looking at the impact of reporting on selection and change. It explores whether public release prompts improvements in effectiveness, patient safety and patient centredness.

The report offers robust evidence in an active area of policy. Despite major improvements in healthcare, quality gaps persist. The report backs the current direction of policy by showing that transparent systematic, data-driven performance measurement and feedback have a key role in quality improvement. The study offers suggestions for implementation, finding that public release of outcome data can stimulate change at the level of the hospital. However, it has little effect on consumer selection of provider.

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